A New Battle of Thermopylae: the Gothic Invasions of Greece in the 3rd century AD

This talk will discuss the exciting discovery of new fragments of the Scythica, written by the Athenian historian Dexippus, in the Austrian National Library in Vienna. One of the most exciting new fragments contains details of a Greek defense of the pass of Thermopylae against the Goths in the 260s A.D. The defense was mounted in collaboration with the Roman governor of Greece, whose speech to the troops occupies a large portion of the fragment. This presentation will discuss the interpretation of the date and context of the new text advanced in an article co-authored with Dr Christopher Mallan (Oxford) and published in the Journal of Roman Studies in 2015.